Cil Nom of the K’Ho ethnic minority now owns a modern house and enjoys a comfortable life in Bon Dung 1 hamlet in Lam Dong province’s Lac Duong district. 7 years ago, Cil Nom’s family could not make ends meet from their 1 ha of rice cultivation, and was listed among the poor households in Lac Duong district. With the local government’s financial and technical assistance, his family switched to growing flowers and various kinds of vegetables instead of rice and started earning 15,000 USD a year. Cil Nom’s investment 2 years ago in an automatic watering system and greenhouse to grow high-profit flowers has now increased his family’s income to 25,000 USD per year. He said: "We used to grow one crop a year which hardly fed us and we had to find extra jobs to make ends meet. Since we switched to growing flowers and vegetables, we no longer suffer from hunger and enjoy a much more comfortable life."

A successful model of high-profit flower growing in Langbiang. Photo: nongnghiep.vn

A number of local ethnic households have found stable outlets for their products. Pang Ting Sin and his family in Dan Kia hamlet, Lac Duong district, were one of the pioneer households. After signing contracts with a wholesale flower company, Pang Tinh Sin shifted 2 thirds of his farmland to growing roses, earning his family 2500 USD a month. Pang Ting Sin told VOV: "Growing flowers requires more investment and knowledge than growing vegetables. But it brings us a higher profit and ensures that our production is sustainable."

Farmers in Lac Duong have applied high technology to 70% of their 1500 ha of farmland, mostly to grow artichokes, flowers, strawberries, and vegetables, with increasing quality and quantity. Nguyen Duy Hai is Chairman of the Lac Duong district’s People’s Committee: "Agricultural restructuring with high-tech application has proved effective in local new rural development. Growing flowers and vegetables has significantly improved local people’s living conditions. We’ll do our best to expand effective models to support local ethnic people’s agricultural restructuring."